Influence By Design

The time has come for you to move from the spare bedroom in your home to an actual office space. Either you’ve outgrown the bedroom and need to hire a couple employees or perhaps your family has grown and you need to use the bedroom for its original intention.  Whatever the case may be, follow these tips to find an office that’s a good fit for you.

Size Matters

You’re still growing and depending on how quickly you grow, you’ll either need to ensure that your space has room for more employees when you need them, or that it’s small (and affordable) enough for you and one or two other co workers. Consider the square footage of your new office space and plan for the future before you sign the lease.

Consider Co-Working

If you don’t plan on growing your company too much in the first few years, consider renting co-working space. This is space in a large unit that is relatively cheap, since it’s shared by many members, some of whom only come in once or twice a week. The seating is typically first come, first served, but some places will offer you more permanent seats if you plan on working there every day.

Location, Location, Location

Do you want to work close to home? Are you willing to have a longer commute for a reduced price? Consider the location of your office space before you sign a lease. You may be getting a break on the rent, but how much will you wind up spending on gas for your daily commute? Working close to home my save you gas and time in the morning, but you may end up leaving to take care of family during the day.

Communicating in today’s world of business can be a challenge.

Why?

Because everything and everybody is moving fast; looking for the next best, fastest, top and finest widget to make a buck. Unfortunately, people are becoming ego-centric, believing the world only cares about them.

Knowing this puts you in a position of having to connect, collaborate and coordinate in less time, more succinctly, and get the exact message across that you need them to hear. You are expected to perform on a tight rope balancing their needs along with your needs.

How can you thrive in this seemingly impossible trap of pleasing everyone, relaying your message, and keeping your sanity intact? It’s possible but not without a well grounded understanding of how you communicate.

Here are 4 ways to building better business communication.

1. Be Irresistible. People will slow down long enough to get what you have to offer they can’t live without. Be so good they can’t ignore you.
2. Be Accessible. Make your offer easily visible, understood and uncomplicated. Practice KISS - keep it simple sweetheart. Become a master of balancing patience with bonding in a relationship and getting to the point.
3. Do Your Homework. Gather all the information and knowledge you can about a potential customer. What do they value? Where is their focus? What irritates them or keeps them awake at night?
4. Recognize Differences. When you communicate in a business relationship, recognize how the other person is different from you. Then flex your style to match theirs. No, not give up who you are. Rather, show them someone they can relate to.

One of the top resources to cultivate is your ability to communicate. Spend your time (and money) making sure you are not leaving any stone unturned when it comes to sending and receiving.

Women are masterful communicators. They listen beyond words, respond to non-verbal movement and instantly connect to what they are observing.

[This is only one of the many powerful articles in this week's Influence It! Real Power for Women free ezine. To enjoy the full issue, jam packed with insightful information on strategies to enhance your personal and professional life to achieve ultimate success, you must be a subscriber. Sign up for your own free subscription NOW by clicking here!]

Conventional wisdom has taught us it’s more important to be respected than liked. But there is something to be said about the power of likeability.

The bridge between you and success is built around likeability. Sure, there are successful people who are not liked. But the road to success can be easier, and more profitable, by being likeable.

If you want to earn support from your peers, to have the loyalty of your employees, to lead your followers to a better future, and finally to achieve your life’s dreams, you must first be liked.

How do you build the likeability bridge?

There are 5 ways women can become more likeable and reach the success in their relationships, their business and their future.

1. Become Relatable. If people can’t relate to you then you will have an uphill climb. A woman in business knows that people need to understand who she is, what they have in common with her and how interested she is in them: their problems, their dreams and their future.
2. Express Compassion. Showing that you care, thinking beyond your own needs and being concerned for others' welfare is an attribute worth cultivating. Empathy and kindness make you attractive. Recognize and acknowledge other people’s feelings and experiences.
3. Listen to What They’re Saying. Listening plays a role in being likeable. This is different from hearing. Listening is paying attention to the tone, intent and emotion in the words being expressed. Engage with people. Mutual conversation and interest is noticed.
4. Stop Telling Tales. This means gossip. Even though you think you may be ‘informing,’ stop and realize that what you say probably will come back to haunt you some day. Then others will be less likely to trust you, leading to not liking you.
5. Don’t Keep Score. Be willing to share with no strings attached. This way you will gain respect and admiration. This can also create a reciprocal feeling where others will offer assistance without being asked.
   If you can make them like you, then they’ll be happy to like you.

[This is only one of the many powerful articles in this week's Influence It! Real Power for Women free ezine. To enjoy the full issue, jam packed with insightful information on strategies to enhance your personal and professional life to achieve ultimate success, you must be a subscriber. Sign up for your own free subscription NOW by clicking here!]

Being influential can mean the difference between success and failure. Yours.

Influence is touted to women as an outer or external component as a means of getting what you want.

This is logical IF you accept influence as how to exert power over someone or a situation. James Ford instructs leaders on the five sources of power to influence people: reward power, coercive power, legitimate power, expert power and referent power.

Each of these "sources of power" are external ways of persuading or influencing something outside of yourself.

Dale Carnegie knew differently. He taught valuable lessons on how to influence people, and much of Carnegie’s lesser-known beliefs are about attitude (frame of mind or feeling) and sincerity (honesty). Traits that initiate from within a person. Nobody is in charge of your attitude or sincerity.

Understanding where your influence originates, develops and is expressed is critical to a woman’s source of influence and power. More and more women are asking, "Where do I connect or receive this power? How do I build my influence?"

There are 3 essential things to know when becoming influential:

1. Most lessons of modern-day influence are written by men who talk about outer experiences addressing the ‘doing’ aspect of influence.

Dr. Robert Cialdini teaches, “The key is to characterize what it is they know they should be doing in a way that makes it more likely they’ll engage in that behavior. Give them a value that they connect to the behavior. This produces more adherence.”

Adherence. The “if-I-do-this-than-you-will-do-that” rule of influence.” These rules simplify—and even distort by watering down—the essence and value of influence. Especially a woman’s influence.

The “If I do this than you will do that,” is a low-level explanation of influence. Again, using external learning and actions to determine the success of influence.

What’s more, none of these “say this and do that” teachings take into account something very important—the personality.

Outer results (and actions) are just 33% of the influence pie...ignoring talents and innate abilities women bring to the table.

Women may understand how the modern ‘power game’ is played but they don’t need to accept it.

2. What’s being taught about influence in the mainstream negates your most precious resource to create a life of total fulfillment. Intuition. Yours.

What women do best is allow their intuition to serve them -in business, in relationships, in decisions and in life.

How you work inside. The emotions you feel. Your soul. Everything that makes you the woman you are. No interference from outside distractions wanting to control the result.

According to Merriam-Webster, influence is “an ethereal fluid held to flow from the stars and to affect the actions of humans, an emanation of spiritual or moral force, or the act or power of producing an effect without apparent exertion of force or direct exercise of command.”

Wow. What a beautiful definition.

The origin for the word “influence” comes from the Latin “influere” which means “to flow into.” Post-Roman Era Latin introduced the term “influential” which became “influence” in French. The English language took its definition of “influence” from the French.

Webster’s definition of influence “to flow into” sparks curiosity - on a gut level.

Women want to be influential. Influence as only what’s done to someone else is superficial.

That which is superficial is, by nature, disempowering.

What is the component that’s both vital and palpable in determining where your influence comes from, how you influence yourself, and only then how you influence your environment?

In other words, what is the source—not the execution—of influence?

3. Influence is more an internal process than an external one.

There’s a difference between human being and human doing. Instead of having influence, become influential. Being influential begins with the inner process of listening to your intuition, your soul, and your sense of knowing. It’s the alignment of your soul, your mind and your response.

The soul and mind are the ‘being’ aspects of influence.

The outer aspect of influence is the ‘doing’ aspect.

At your fingertips (and inside your soul) is the information you need to focus and stay on track with your influence goals, the dynamics you need to understand, the people you’re influencing, and the traps. This is where you will see every possible influence angle in order to harness its power for your benefit.

Carnegie knew the secret of influence. And it comes from the inside out.

[This is only one of the many powerful articles in this week's Influence It! Real Power for Women free ezine. To enjoy the full issue, jam packed with insightful information on strategies to enhance your personal and professional life to achieve ultimate success, you must be a subscriber. Sign up for your own free subscription NOW by clicking here!]

Oftentimes, when we become mothers, our professional career takes a back seat for a while. But on occasion, a mom comes along with the drive to create, invent and market their own business all while taking care of their children. Here are the top six mompreneurs of 2011.

Dr. Amy Baxter

No one likes taking their children to the doctor for shots. You feel their pain as they cry each time they get the injection that they need. This can be compounded even more when your child has a phobia of needles. Such was the case with Dr. Baxter, a pediatric emergency room physician, and her son. She spent time developing Buzzy, a device that uses vibration and ice to dull the pain of shots. This cute bee sits near the site of injection and helps to dull the pain of shots. Now that’s what I call taking matters into your own hands! 

Cinnamon Bowser

As a weary mom and business woman, sometimes we don’t have the time to pamper ourselves. We think, “I have so much to do, how can I even think about getting to a nail salon?” Enter Nail Taxi, the country’s first mobile nail salon. Thanks to Mrs. Bowser and her bright idea, now the mani and pedi come to you! You can get your pampering done at work or at home. Just be sure they’re in a city near you before you decide to call this cab.

Sophia Chiang

When Sophia saw a lack of organization in her parent volunteer groups at her daughter’s school, rather than sit by an complain, she decided to do something about it. An experienced software consultant, Chiang started Qlubb.com as a  way for parent groups to coordinate volunteers. This simple software lets groups like PTAs create an account and make sure that everyone is volunteering their time and not just a select few.

Lisa Druxman

Losing all that added baby weight after you give birth can be a lot of work, especially when you want to spend all your time with your newborn baby. Lisa Druxman came up with a solution to this conundrum by developing Stroller Strides, the fitness program that new mommies can do with their babies.

Ann Marie Foonberg

Driven by a desire to create a TV community for real life moms, Ann Marie developed the Real Mom TV Network. She started by writing the episodes of the shows at her kitchen table. The show launched with a glowing response from the viewers and she has since been able to move production from her home into an actual studio.

Marie Gellin

Little boys get stinky. Very few of them want to bath when it comes time to wash the grit and grime of a day filled with activity off their bodies. Gellin noticed this and started to develop a line of personal hygiene products that would appeal to boys and called it “Stinky Boyz.” The all natural shampoos and body washes are sports themed and come in fun packages like soccer balls or baseballs.

Are you KISSing?

The common acronym KISS has been around for decades. While general definitions say it stands for “Keep it simple, stupid,” I’ve one ahead and modified it to be a little more positive by saying “Keep it simple, sweetheart!” The KISS method, while it shouldn’t be used all the time, every time, definitely has its place in each and every business model. Where can you use the KISS method in your company?

In the board room

So many company meetings start out with grand intentions and end hours later with little accomplished. KISS long meetings goodbye! Make an itinerary and stick to it. Never tackle more than five issues each meeting. Allot a certain amount of time to talk about each topic. When time is up, the topic discussion is as well.

In the break room

It’s easy to start catering to everyone’s taste in the break room. Some folks want coffee, others want tea, still others want energy drinks. Some people could care less about drinks and want snacks. You can end up wasting a lot of money by trying to please everyone. KISS break room mayhem goodbye. Offer the basics: coffee, cream, sugar, tea and water. If someone wants something else, they can bring it themselves.

On the next big project

It’s easy to get bogged down in details when you start a new project, but then you’ll never focus on the big picture. Start your next project with a KISS. List the top 3-5 goals you want to achieve with this project. Don’t start with the details; start with the simple big picture.

Kissing on the job will get you into some serious trouble, but if you start KISSing on the job, you just might see an increase in productivity and quality work.

[If you find value in his blog and want more - you will be excited to read Influence It! Real POWER For Women, where you will find more in-depth strategies and leading-edge information for the influential woman on the go! AND a free report, too! Check it out here!]

1. Health. Women are taking charge of their health. They want to make informed decisions, to have early detection, and to have increased knowledge of what is possible. Women are refusing to assume someone else’s decision as their own.
2. Relationship Advice. Women are experts at relationships. They value the engagement, conversation and comfort of healthy relationships in every part of their life. They want to know how to make their relationships not only better but also have relationships that work for them. They read about how to be genuine in their relationships without fear of judgment or ridicule.
3. Parenting. Women are eager to learn how other women are parenting their children. They value finding others who are experiencing the same problems or questions about raising children. Look at all the mommy sites everywhere offering advice, support and encouragement to moms everywhere. Women are about community, and no community is more important than when it comes to their children.
4. Leadership. Women are taking on leadership roles in all facets of their life. Not only at work but in volunteer, school and church situations. They have decided to take necessary risks and reach their full leadership potential by discovering what works and what doesn’t. Women are exploring and fine tuning their natural talents to be solid leaders.
5. Love. Women are looking for romance. They aren’t finding love, companionship, and friendship in their normal daily routines. They are enjoying the freedom to search and match to what they want, not who they "happen" to meet.

The internet has become a valuable tool for women to take control over several areas of their lives. It’s affordable, accessible, and they can do it in the comfort of their own home and in their own time.

[This is only one of the many powerful articles in this week's Influence It! Real Power for Women free ezine. To enjoy the full issue, jam packed with insightful information on strategies to enhance your personal and professional life to achieve ultimate success, you must be a subscriber. Sign up for your own free subscription NOW by clicking here!]

When it comes to being in business, the road to success can be long and hard, marked by many highs and lows and everything in between. Like life, our business can make us ride an emotional roller coaster - if we let it. We may jump for joy when we land a new client or enter into a profitable partnership, or we may fall into despair when we lose a great employee or our line of credit maxes out and the upcoming financial forecast looks grim.

The trick is to have the chops to see things through, no matter what's going on. As long as you're in business because you love what you do and you want to be in it for the long haul, that's half the battle.

Here are 4 ways to help keep your business emotions in check.

1. Let your intuition play a key role. Business is as much playing by the rules and regulations game as it is flying by intuition. When you combine the two, powerful things happen. You probably already use your intuition to some extent naturally. I suggest you develop it more and use it more often. It's rarely wrong.
2. Keep an even keel. Like a boat on the water, the shifting tides and rolling waves will always threaten to bounce you around or capsize you when you least expect it. Like a girl scout, you can prepare for every eventuality. Whatever it is, have a Plan B ready to be deployed at any time. Know what kind of first aid you'll need, whether you just scrape your knee or find yourself fighting a large fire. Teach yourself to be calm in emergencies. It doesn't do you or anyone else any good if you fly off the handle or shrivel up in a corner. Every disaster, small or big will pass. Learn to take them in stride, like an intuitive woman of power. In fact, you can always influence the outcome more than you think!
3. Make the people connection sing. When you have the right people in your corner, both in business and at home, it can make all the difference to your success. Sometimes it's easy to take these people for granted because they're always there when you need them. Be sure you are recognizing their input, support, attention, and guidance. They're the ones helping you confirm what your gut tells you. The more successful you become, the more you need them. Remember, no woman is an island!
4. Don't forget the self-care factor. Running a business is pretty much a full-time job. Like raising kids, you think about it all the time, whether you're at your desk or on vacation. And that vacation is a good thing for both the mind and the soul. However, you need mini-vacations every day, and throughout the month, too. You absolutely have to make self-care a priority. Whether that means getting up early to go to the gym, taking a full hour and a half for lunch, or stopping promptly at 4:00 pm, you must do these things in order to refresh and revitalize yourself. It is amazing how much better you will cope and how much better your overall disposition will be. Plus your intuition will be right on cue just when you need it.

As a businesswoman, you've got a lot to do and a lot to think about. It doesn't pay to let energy-sapping thoughts get in the way. Your business is a reflection of who you are, your values and principles. With the right combination of business know-how and self-care, your stick-tuitive-ness will win every time!

[This is only one of the many powerful articles in this week's Influence It! Real Power for Women free ezine. To enjoy the full issue, jam packed with insightful information on strategies to enhance your personal and professional life to achieve ultimate success, you must be a subscriber. Sign up for your own free subscription NOW by clicking here!]

Women in business are astute when it comes to watching out for integrity. You want to know that everyone you deal with, hire, or promote is working from a space of integrity.

The word integrity conjures up images of politicians, business people and individuals in authority. It’s a blue ribbon that people feel a need to conquer.

How are you doing with your integrity? This isn’t the "am I being honest?" self check. This integrity is how you approach your work, your relationships, and your life. Do you let people walk all over you? Are you habitually saying yes when you mean no? How often do you hang up the phone feeling miserable because of how you let someone speak to you?

These are questions worth answering. Integrity isn’t only about truth and honesty. It’s about following your core values, establishing your beliefs, and measuring your behavior. Since integrity is closely linked to core values, why then do so few people actually live a way that exemplifies their core values? Two reasons: they either don’t know their core values, or they have a hard time living them in all circumstances.

Your integrity shows by how you live your values AND how you allow others to connect to those values.

What does it really take to be a person of TRUE integrity?

1. Possess a Fundamental Knowledge of Who You Are. You need to know what you believe in and possess an understanding of your capabilities. This happens when you are challenged and face overwhelming circumstances. It’s how you deal with these circumstances that defines your character and sets you apart from the rest. Be open to a new level of self awareness. Start identifying the character building situations that come along – then participate fully.
   Write out a personal vision statement that gives you clarity about your beliefs. This will give you insight to where your belief system originated and what may need to change.
2. Be Responsible For Your Personality. You are accountable for the affect you have on people. Find Your Number One Strength. It may be an appreciation, a skill, a talent, a desire. Search until you find that ONE thing that gives you courage, reflection and peace.
   Once you discover that strength, answer these questions: How are you using it? What benefits are you getting with that strength? How can you make it stronger?
3. Re-Design a Life That Aligns With Who You Really Are. Welcome the growing pains of this process. Learn from each step forward and every step backward. Know that the difficult times, where you feel the most resistance, are the opportunities for the biggest learnings and opportunities for growth. Commit to daring to think, feel and act outside the box. Remove the obstacles that have become too familiar, stopping you from reaching your potential.
   Identify where you are not being truthful in your life. Restore that truth. Your mission is not where you currently are, but where you want to be.

The real question you need to answer is this: what have your life experiences taught you about yourself, your values, your belief system and what you are really made of? Then make note of how you’ve gone on to live in sync with this deeper knowledge.

Living with integrity is living courageously, to first recognize, then be who you are, while facing up to the challenges that life presents. Commit to increasing the pace and energy devoted to "integrity" exploration and expansion. Your integrity continues to increase as you evolve. Integrity is not static. As you grow, it upgrades.

[This is only one of the many powerful articles in this week's Influence It! Real Power for Women free ezine. To enjoy the full issue, jam packed with insightful information on strategies to enhance your personal and professional life to achieve ultimate success, you must be a subscriber. Sign up for your own free subscription NOW by clicking here!]

Letting go - letting happen!

You’re working late every night this week. The take out containers are starting to pile up like a leaning tower of Kung Pao Chicken, Pho and sandwich wrappers. You’ve foregone drying your hair in the morning to get just 5 extra minutes of work done. This project means everything to you and you are not going to let it fail.

The problem is, right now, you’re trying so hard, that you may cause it to fail. On occasion, we push ourselves too hard in our job. Either we get put in charge of too many projects or we take on something impossibly large. A project too big for one person that you’re handling by yourself. Very few people can keep up this behavior for too long, before their work starts to suffer, and the project you’ve worked so hard to make brilliant becomes something you can barely do anymore. Don’t let this happen to you! Here are some tips on just letting go.

Set a time limit. You’re a professional. At this point in your career, you should know how to fairly accurately estimate the amount of time an assigned project will take. Based on that number, budget your time every day. When you’ve exceeded you time limit, step away from the work pile. Don’t allow yourself to pick the work back up until tomorrow.

Take a bath. I know this may seem like a silly suggestion, but there is something about baths that just seem to slow everything down. There’s a whole ritual to slowly drawing the bath and lounging in the warm water. You’re getting relaxed just reading this, aren’t you? Taking the time to pamper yourself a little bit helps you relax and take some moment for yourself. While you’re in the tub, imagine all that worry and stress washing right off you and going down the drain when you pull the plug.

Watch a movie. No, I don’t mean pop a DVD in the player; I mean go out to a theater and watch a movie. It will take your mind off work, if only for a couple hours, and it will get you out of the house and/or office and make it impossible for you to do work while you watch the movie.

Spend time with non-work friends. We spend so much time at work that many of our coworkers become our close friends. The problem is you start talking about almost nothing but work when you all go out. One night a week, take time to go out with friends that you don’t know from work. You’ll have time to catch up on lives instead of projects and deadlines and you’ll get your mind off every little detail of your project.

Letting go is never easy, but if you take the time in your day to do other things besides obsess over work or one project, you’ll find renewed energy for your job at work, resulting in a much better outcome.

[If you find value in his blog and want more - you will be excited to read Influence It! Real POWER For Women, where you will find more in-depth strategies and leading-edge information for the influential woman on the go! AND a free report, too! Check it out here!]

Are You Getting Life's Luxuries?

Social coupons are all the rage these days. From dinners to spa services, there are a variety of daily deals to be had in almost all major cities across the United States. I love to use them to go out to a great dinner I wouldn’t normally have on a weeknight. I get a little taste of luxury for at least half the price! Social coupons are a great way to pamper yourself (or your employees) even when you’re on a budget, but there are a ton of sites out there now, so which ones are right for you? Read on to find out a little more about some of the top social coupon sites out there.

Groupon: The original social coupon site that started it all. They’re known for their quirky copy and variety of deals. They have coupons available in 23 countries and 91 US cities and in many large cities, they have deals broken down for various areas of the city. They also feature an iPhone and Android app that allows you to buy and redeem coupons straight from your phone.

Living Social: These guys are the next biggest site and also have an Android or iPhone friendly app that does the same thing as Groupon. Their site also has a “Getaways” section for great discounts on trips all over the US. If you’re looking for great family deals, they have a new section dedicated to getting the best coupons for your kids and family.

Dealster: From family activities to spa, Dealster’s site offers coupons for up to 90% off the regular price. They do a pretty good job of keeping their offerings varied so you never know what surprises you’ll fine when you open your inbox in the morning. They have a Google Chrome extension and an iPhone app, so buying can be as easy as clicking.

DealOn: Like all of the other sites, this company offers discounted deals on everything from retail goods to dinner. They have a limited number of coupons for sale each day, so customers need to act quickly to get the hottest deals before they’re gone.

Social Buy: Of all of the sites I’ve listed here, this one has the fewest amount of cities on it roster at 22. It works exactly the same as all of the other sites, including the referral credits. For every friend you refer (who uses your link to buy the deal) you get $10 worth of credit towards another purchase on the site.

Of course, there are many other local or regional coupon sites that offer similar deals in your community, so you don’t need to stop at just the sites listed above (though I do highly recommend Groupon and Living Social). Just be careful not to become a social coupon addict!

[If you find value in his blog and want more - you will be excited to read Influence It! Real POWER For Women, where you will find more in-depth strategies and leading-edge information for the influential woman on the go! AND a free report, too! Check it out here!]

Knowing when to say no is a major first step in getting to yes.

How?

Psychologically, when people hear no, their immediate reaction is how they can turn that "no" into a yes. For instance, when you tell the car salesperson not today, they begin to figure out ways to make the deal even sweeter – to your advantage.

Another example is when you say no to your children having 20 kids for a sleepover. Then they will begin negotiating to the manageable 6 friends.

Yes is tempting because we all have the human desire to be liked, get approval, and make others happy. Yes really isn’t yes when it’s at the expense of yourself.

Women find it hard to say no for a few reasons: you want to help, you don’t want to be rude, you like agreement, you fear conflict, and you don’t want to burn bridges. Notice these reasons are all thoughts (false beliefs), not truths.

So, when is the time to say no? There are three specific conditions on knowing when to say no.

1. It’s Not In Your Best Interest. Some people expect you to cover for them, basically, lie. You know that lies usually come back to haunt you. Trust your gut when anyone expects or requests you to not be forthcoming with the truth. The "yes" part will be when the truth is offered by everyone, including your friend.
2. Saying Yes Violates Your Boundaries. When yes goes against your core values and beliefs, no is the better answer. Whenever you go against your core values is when you have a difficult time facing yourself in the mirror. Self-disappoint will carry over into low self-esteem and even lower self-worth.
3. Stress Relief. When you are in overwhelm, up to your neck in work, or not sleeping due to commitments, it is time to stop, take an inventory of your time and realize you are headed for a breakdown. Saying no at this point, taking back a few "yeses" can be a life saver – both mentally and physically.

It’s about how you say no, rather than the fact you’re saying no, that affects the outcome. Listen to your priorities and needs. Saying no is about respecting and valuing your time and space. When you do say yes, it’ll be music to your ears!

[This is only one of the many powerful articles in this week's Influence It! Real Power for Women free ezine. To enjoy the full issue, jam packed with insightful information on strategies to enhance your personal and professional life to achieve ultimate success, you must be a subscriber. Sign up for your own free subscription NOW by clicking here!]

Just like exercise is good for your body, it is also good for your business. There are daily demands every business owner faces, and without a strong, solid foundation and good reserves on hand for those inevitable emergencies, you can find both you and your bottom line sidelined at the most inopportune times.

Build muscle every day. Make sure the foundational basics are covered. Is all of your paperwork and tasks ready and at hand so you don't have to go in search of anything? Are you prepared for any client meetings or calls? Is there enough money in petty cash? Do you leave enough time for travel and meals in between everything else you need to do? These basics, like lifting weights, are essential to keeping your business muscles in fine form and ready to be flexed at any time.

Walk, don't run. When things get a little overwhelming, do you automatically move faster? Usually what happens when we do this, is we end up putting in twice as much effort for half the results, essentially spinning our wheels. And the more we try to get on top of things that are getting out of hand, the more they seem to slip through our fingers. Stop, slow down, and assess the situation. Is there a simpler way to meet the demands, like removing some task or engagement or having someone else do them for you? Remember that your customer comes first, so if you sound harried or distracted when you're talking to them, you're in danger of compromising that relationship. Clear the decks and get control!

Raise the bar. No matter how your business is structured, there is always room for improvement. When was the last time you took a good look at how you run your business internally? Is there some procedure or process that could be done more efficiently? Are there some employees or vendors who are being under-utilized, or is it time to let someone go? Are you still doing tasks that are not your strong suit? It's always a good idea to do an internal review every couple of months or so, no matter the size of your business.

Remember to play. All too often, as women business owners, we are so serious about what we do, we forget to have fun. Sure, doing business is serious stuff. It's our livelihood, but that doesn't mean we can't let our hair down when and where appropriate. Most people appreciate a sense of humor, whether client or employee. You don't have to go as far as having your team play baseball or telling your client jokes, just lighten up the emotional atmosphere, and you'll find it will enhance all of your working relationships - and most likely improve your bottom line in the process!

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